California cost of living.. perception vs. reality? (Truckee: RV park, 2013)

[V8 Vega]

Cali upsets me, Calif. doesn't.
With our constantly increasing taxes on everything I can't believe that California's cost of living isn't higher than most other states.
And I own my house.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by jcx456

Let me start by saying that i have never been to california, it's one of the few states i have never been to before, but i really want to come there. I'm curious why most people at least people from outside of california, that i have talked to think it's impossible to live there because the cost of living is too astronomical? I can definetly understand the housing/rent prices and the high taxes, but aside from that what else is so outrageous? Like is one ticket to the movies $20, a gallon of milk $8, gas $6 gallon or what, because i get the idea from others that *everything* is at least twice as much as in other places of the country. That just dosen't seem possible to me, fill me in please californians, what aside from housing and taxes make california sooo expensive to live in? Thanks.

I hope that the OP did move and bought a home in CA in 2009. He could sell it today for a very nice profit and live like a king in 'Missoora.'

[wac_432]

Nothing except housing.
Taxes, for me, are lower in California than they would be in Indiana. Saves me over $1000/year.
Fresh food is 1/2 price. Saves me another $1000/year or so.
Meat / poultry / fish is the same.
Milk is slightly more expensive. So are processed/boxed foods. Rice is cheaper. Costs me maybe $100/year.
Utilities are very low due to the nice weather, even though rates are higher. Saves me $2000/year
Gas is 30% more than most other places, but we have fuel-efficient cars and walk/bike more due to good weather. Costs me maybe $500/year.
Housing is incredibly expensive. Costs me at least $12000 extra/year, and we did really smart stuff. Most people probably pay double that premium to live in CA.

So, to sum it up:
Housing: +12,000
Taxes: -1,000
Groceries: -900
Utilities: -2,000
Gas: +500
Total California Yearly Premium: +8,600 / year.
Of course, I make more money here, my house is a gold mine that will more than pay off the extra cost, as long as people want to live here, so I'm actually much richer, more mobile, and just better-off in general for living in CA.

Your mileage may vary, depending on your lifestyle and choices...

[Finper]

Originally Posted by wac_432

Nothing except housing.
Taxes, for me, are lower in California than they would be in Indiana. Saves me over $1000/year.
Fresh food is 1/2 price. Saves me another $1000/year or so.
Meat / poultry / fish is the same.
Milk is slightly more expensive. So are processed/boxed foods. Rice is cheaper. Costs me maybe $100/year.
Utilities are very low due to the nice weather, even though rates are higher. Saves me $2000/year
Gas is 30% more than most other places, but we have fuel-efficient cars and walk/bike more due to good weather. Costs me maybe $500/year.
Housing is incredibly expensive. Costs me at least $12000 extra/year, and we did really smart stuff. Most people probably pay double that premium to live in CA.

So, to sum it up:
Housing: +12,000
Taxes: -1,000
Groceries: -900
Utilities: -2,000
Gas: +500
Total California Yearly Premium: +8,600 / year.
Of course, I make more money here, my house is a gold mine that will more than pay off the extra cost, as long as people want to live here, so I'm actually much richer, more mobile, and just better-off in general for living in CA.

Your mileage may vary, depending on your lifestyle and choices...

Man you eat a lot of rice!! Groceries in Arizona is half of what it is here. Why is groceries so expensive in Indiana?

[JGC97]

Originally Posted by Sagely1

I lived in Cali for 20 years, now I'm in Ky. The first thing we were hit with was our car insurance went up because KY taxes car insurance. Then we found out that with the City tax on top of the state tax our income tax is less than 1% less. If our income was lower we would pay less in Cali, because KY taxes poor people at higher rates.
We pay an actual rate of 1.15% on property tax, California has a rate of 1.25 but the actual effective rate was closer to .79%, according to Investopedia.com it is the 17th lowest in the country. Cali put it on the ballot in the 70s, so there is some protection from higher rates.
Houses are cheaper, but the cost to own is a shocker, we didn't worry too much about maintenance in Cali because of the moderate climate. In Ky we are either running the heater or air conditioner every day, so even though the cost per KW is more in Cali we use more in KY so we pay more. Due to humidity issues we have to run a dehumidifier in the summer and a humidifier in the winter(we didn't even own those in Cali)
The water has more minerals, so we've replaced our hot water heater and was told that it would probably only last 5-7 yrs. We've had to deal w/ gutter issues - never an issue in Cali & lots of other repairs. Cost of home maintenance is way more expensive in KY as i'm sure it is in any state that has lots of rain &/or Snow.
The cost of meat is about the same here, but the cost of vegetables is way higher. I can't believe we pay $1 per Lbs for potatoes, it was usually about .59 cents in Cali. I can't believe the cheapest place to find veggies in Ky is Trader Joes because they charge the same nationwide. TJs was always most expensive in Cali.
The sales tax is lower, but it is charged on so many more things. In KY we pay sales tax on vet bills, the labor for car repairs and home maintenance, movie tickets etc. - yes Ky claims lower taxes, but they've shifted the burden to the poor and middle class so they can point to what they charge the wealthy & say look our taxes are low.
I thought our car registration bill was higher after the first year initial registration but can't say for sure. My friends in Cali that I've asked all drive newer cars & are paying about what we pay in Ky for our older vehicles.
There is a political motivation on the part of some to convince people that Cali does it all wrong, but the truth about cost is more about housing costs than overall costs.

Very informative post, especially for people who haven't lived outside California. Too bad you chose to post your comments in a thread that's nine years old. What's funnier is there will be some who post comments on those nine-year-old entries. Edit: too late. it happened.

[ikoolu]

i know first hand how much it cost- left in April - moved to Texas - i registered my three cars and 5th wheel for what it cost to register 1 car i Calif

no utility tax

gas 1.93 today alot less gas tax

no income tax

property tax lower that calif home

lower sales tax

9.2.cent per KW for electricity - thats include min change etc

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by ikoolu

i know first hand how much it cost- left in April - moved to Texas - i registered my three cars and 5th wheel for what it cost to register 1 car i Calif

no utility tax

gas 1.93 today alot less gas tax

no income tax

property tax lower that calif home

lower sales tax

9.2.cent per KW for electricity - thats include min change etc

Very happy for you. Hope ten’s of millions in California read and heed and move out of this hellhole state to The great state of Texas!





I’ll stay behind to sweep up and watch things.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Too bad you chose to post your comments in a thread that's nine years old.

I'll say!

[509]

Originally Posted by Rhenzanite

On average, my gas bill is $30 a month, electricity is $75, water is $60 every other month and trash is $49 every other month for our 3 bedroom house. It's pretty consistent all year round

Utilities are pretty cheap here on the coast if you conserve. We're never for wanting, either... our house is always comfortable and we cook the vast majority of our meals at home.

Your kidding....right. What do you live in??

We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in eastern Washington 2200 square feet....all electric, nothing exceptional.

We took the RV down to California and spent a month in private campground. We had to pay for our own electricity.

While I was there I got my utility bill for the house in eastern Washington as the same time the campground gave me their electricity bill calculation.

My bill for basically heating my house with electricity to 55 degrees for one month was $100. That same bill in California would have been TWO THOUSAND AND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS....$2100 for one month of heating a 2200 square foot home to 55 degrees!! It is an energy efficient home, but we do get colder weather in January....low mid-20's high's mid 40's.

BTW...the RV Park was a co-op so NO markup on the electrical rates.

Utilities are outrageous is California.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by 509

Your kidding....right. What do you live in??

We live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in eastern Washington 2200 square feet....all electric, nothing exceptional.

We took the RV down to California and spent a month in private campground. We had to pay for our own electricity.

While I was there I got my utility bill for the house in eastern Washington as the same time the campground gave me their electricity bill calculation.

My bill for basically heating my house with electricity to 55 degrees for one month was $100. That same bill in California would have been TWO THOUSAND AND ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS....$2100 for one month of heating a 2200 square foot home to 55 degrees!! It is an energy efficient home, but we do get colder weather in January....low mid-20's high's mid 40's.

BTW...the RV Park was a co-op so NO markup on the electrical rates.

Utilities are outrageous is California.

I call BS on your post. We’ve stayed in RV parks in CA they include all utility costs in the space rent @ $40 a night. We live in snow country in an all electric house and at the most we spend $150 a month for power. We keep our house at 67*.Perhaps those grow lights accounted for your high bills

Originally Posted by ikoolu

i know first hand how much it cost- left in April - moved to Texas - i registered my three cars and 5th wheel for what it cost to register 1 car i Calif

no utility tax

gas 1.93 today alot less gas tax

no income tax

property tax lower that calif home

lower sales tax

9.2.cent per KW for electricity - thats include min change etc

But you have to live in Texas to reap those benefits. Saving 2 cents per KW means little when your running your AC 24/7 in the summer. Our son lives in TX and his property taxes on his $210k house are 50% higher than our House assesed at $300k